Once-mighty Devils have long been European also-rans

 

They should have thrown the kitchen sink but all they could muster were a few pots and pans.

Five shots, only one on target, in a must-win game. Against a team that had already qualified.

Manchester United’s latest Champions League failure – a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich – follows an all-too-familiar pattern of under-achievement in Europe that began under Alex Ferguson.

A paltry two successful tilts at Old Big Ears in his 26-year reign was his biggest regret. But at least under his leadership they would go down fighting.

What was alarming about this premature exit was how meekly it was accepted – by both the players and the crowd.

There were only a smattering of boos when the final whistle put everyone out of their misery.

It was as if fans, players and manager had accepted their lot before the kickoff and were relieved it was not more humiliating.

Avoiding humiliation is what United have now come to, at least according to Erik Ten Hag.

‘A good performance’ is how the Dutch manager called it.

Either he was referring to another tie on the screen or expectations are so low, he genuinely feels United are among Europe’s also-rans.

Well, on performances, they are. Since Fergie left, the furthest they’ve got in the Champions League is the quarter-finals.

For a club that considers itself one of the giants of the world game, this is the record of makeweights and mediocrities.

In the past decade the real giants, Real Madrid, have contested 31 knockout ties in Europe, with Bayern on 25, Manchester City on 23 and Barcelona 18. United have played in six.

It makes you think Jose Mourinho had a point when he sniped sarcastically about United’s “football heritage” almost six years ago.

He pointed out that under four different managers the club had at the time, reached the last eight – and not beyond – just once in seven years.

It was after a loss to Sevilla when they had parked the bus and managed four shots in two ties.

Spanish newspaper Marca called the Red Devils “an unattractive, fearful team, rich in resources but lamentable in their play,” while AS memorably accused them of playing “troglodyte” football.

It got the erstwhile Special One the sack and some are saying the only reason Ten Hag has survived is because there’s no one to pull the trigger.

United are in limbo, as they seem to have been ever since Fergie retired, and now that CEO Richard Arnold has resigned, no one else has the authority to do the deed.

Everything is on hold for Jim Ratcliffe to take a 25% stake in the club so Ten Hag staggers on.

The British billionaire has promised to do an audit on every aspect and one on the medical department has already begun.

With nine players missing, there is some mitigation for the manager and two more injuries in midweek – to Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw – suggest the revamp can’t come soon enough.

There is still no discernible style of play while big-money signings have for the most part flopped.

Notably Antony (£80m) and Mason Mount at £60m while Moroccan loanee Sofyan Amrabat proves the old adage about being wary of a player after just one good tournament.

Karel Poborsky and El Hadji Diouf are names that still make United and Liverpool fans respectively shudder while City are hoping that Josko Gvardiol won’t be another.

Even Casemiro now looks expensive at £70m if he was only good for one season while Harry Kane would have cost just £28m more than Rasmus Hojlund.

Ten Hag’s choice of captain – Bruno Fernandes – looks less like a Portuguese Man o’ War every week and his soft yellow card against Bournemouth looked suspiciously like cowardice.

Liverpool at Anfield this Sunday must have seemed a good one to miss.

The former Ajax boss is beginning to look out of his depth and it is rare that a manager can recover from a hole as big as this, especially if there’s no mercy on Merseyside.

Yet last season, he did well, so better not write him off yet.

And who should replace him anyway?

There’s so much poison in the chalice that it doesn’t seem to matter who they get.

Zinedine Zidane continues to be mentioned but you can’t see him in Manchester even at the best of times.

Ratcliffe says he wants more British players so may also want a home-grown manager as well, but good luck with that.

Graham Potter? You can’t see the dressing room ‘going through brick walls for him’.

More likely is Brighton’s Italian boss Roberto de Zerbi – unless he’s already lined up to succeed Pep on the other side of the city.

With the wounds of last season’s 7-0 thrashing still to heal, United may well be happy to avoid another Anfield humiliation this weekend.

But after that, if they can find more than a couple of bandages and a bottle of Aspirin in the treatment room, injured stars will return and there’s still more than half the season to play.

And it seems both players and fans are coming to terms with their diminished status.

They must be wary of doing a Barcelona, who’ve mortgaged the souls of unborn grandchildren to survive, lost Messi and knocked down the Nou Camp to build another.

But already reports suggest some fans who can’t get into their temporary home, may not return.

They don’t like the way they’ve gone about the rescue – losing their home (albeit temporarily), their superstar and their aura.

It’s a Shakespearean tragedy.

United are a long way from being in Barca’s financial mess but nothing less than a root and branch revamp will do.

As the old Bard said: “There’s something rotten in the state of Denmark.” - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.